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crown

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crown jewel

1. A precious jewel that is part of or featured on a monarch's or sovereign's regalia. Just one crown jewel from the Queen's regalia is worth enough money to buy a small country.

2. An asset or possession prized as being the best of a group of similar things. This vintage 1965 Corvette Stingray is the crown jewel of my car collection. The works of Shakespeare are the crown jewels of English drama.

See also: crown, jewel

crown jewels

1. The precious jewels, and the regalia or which they are featured, of a monarch or sovereign, as worn or used on a state occasion. One of the greatest mysteries of 20th-century Ireland was the case of the Irish Crown Jewels, which were stolen from Dublin Castle in 1907 and never recovered.

2. slang A man's genitals, especially the testicles. When she heard he had an affair, she kicked him right in the crown jewels.

See also: crown, jewel

crowning achievement

The most important, significant, or greatest accomplishment or moment of one's career or life. The author's oeuvre spans five novels, four plays, and six books of poetry, but this, her final novel, is by far her crowning achievement. I may have had success in business and led a somewhat romantic life, but my crowning achievement was by far the day I became a father.

See also: crown

crown of thorns

Something that causes one pain and suffering. Alludes to the crown of thorns that Jesus was made to wear before his crucifixion. Its usage is similar to the phrase "cross to bear." I can't stand to see how sick she has become. This illness is a real crown of thorns. This class is my crown of thorns. No matter how much I study, I just keep getting awful grades.

See also: crown, of, thorn

crown someone with something

 

1. Lit. to place a crown on someone's head. They crowned the prince with the heavily jeweled royal crown.

2. Fig. to strike someone on the head with something. She crowned him with a skillet. The carpenter crowned himself with a board he knocked loose.

See also: crown

crown something with something

Fig. to place something on the very top of something. (As if crowning royalty.) The chef crowned the cake with golden icing.

See also: crown

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

Prov. A person who has a lot of power and prestige also has a lot of responsibilities, and therefore worries more than other people. (From Shakespeare's play, Henry IV, Part II.) Susan began to have trouble sleeping shortly after she was promoted to head of her department. "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," her friends teased.

See also: crown, head, lie, wear

the jewel in the crown

the best or most valuable thing in a group This college is the jewel in the crown of the city's university.

See also: crown, jewel

to cap/crown/top it all

something that you say when you want to tell someone the worst event in a series of bad events that has happened to you He spilled red wine on the carpet, insulted my mother, and to cap it all, broke my favourite vase.

See be all sweetness and light, for all cares, for all knows, That's all she wrote!, be all in a day's work, I've never [felt etc.] in all my days!, be all ears, if all else fails, all eyes are on, be all eyes, be all fur coat and no knickers, It's all go, All in good time, It's all Greek to me, be all heart, at all hours, at all hours, to all intents and purposes, and all that jazz, be all in the/ mind, in all modesty, be all moonlight and roses, be all mouth, in all but name, That's all need!, be all smiles, all systems go, be all talk, would for all the tea in China, be all things to all men, be all fingers and thumbs, go all the way, be all wet, All work and no play

See also: all, cap

to cap it all

if you have been describing bad things which happened and then say that to cap it all something else happened, you mean that the final thing was even worse He spilled red wine on the carpet, insulted my mother, and, to cap it all, he broke my favourite vase.

See to cap it all, If the cap fits, come cap in hand

See also: all, cap

the jewel in the crown

the best or most valuable thing in a group of things (often + of ) The island of Tresco, with its beautiful tropical gardens, is the jewel in the crown of the Scilly Isles.

See also: crown, jewel

crown jewels

1. A prized possession or asset, as in The Iliad and Odyssey are the crown jewels of ancient literature, or The software products are the company's crown jewels. This usage transfers the value of royal jewels to some other object. [Late 1800s]

2. Also, family jewels. The male genitals, especially the testicles. For example, She gave the would-be mugger a hard kick in the family jewels. A slang euphemism, the term dates from the 1970s, and the variant from the early 1900s.

See also: crown, jewel

crown

tv. to hit someone on the head. The clerk crowned the robber with a champagne bottle.